[blatz]

Hey guys,

I decided to give WL051 a trial on a few beers recently in place of my usual 1056/US-05 on some American Ales (Robust Porter, Amber, IPA and IIPA).  I repitched from the Amber into the IPA and IIPA and both of the latter have this intense orange citrus fruity character that really overpowers the hop presentation - I've got 1.5oz of dryhops in each keg that are in the background to say the least.  My friend asked how much orange zest I used in this batch without any prior comment from me.

Is this normal for a second or third generation of this yeast?  I've decided I don't really like this yeast over Chico, and frankly it doesn't seem at all what I recall from using WY1272 years ago, but I hate to form an opinion if it sounds like something went awry with my particular batches.

Both beers were pitched at 60 and fermented 64-66 wort temp, but each beer uses a vastly different hop schedule - the IPA included Columbus, Cascade, Simcoe, Amarillo and Centennial, whereas the IIPA was Magnum for bittering and then all Centennial .

Its possible that I picked something up I guess that caused this or perhaps repitching isn't ideal for this strain (?), but I wanted to know from some experts what they think on what resulted.

Cheers!

[blatz]

Housekeeping?

[jaybeerman]

I'm not claiming to be an expert, but I can say that I've not noticed a strong orange zest character from re-pitches of wlp051. Yeast cake repitches can definately carry over some hop flavor/bitterness, is it possible that you're experiencing hop character plus a little ester character of the wlp051?

[blatz]

cool - thanks jay.  certainly could be what you say.

I think it very well could be the esters of WL051, but they are so strong versus what others claim (slightly more fruity than 001 ) from this yeast that I wondered if I just stubbed my toe on the handling of this one.

what's most odd is that the IIPA and IPA smell so similar yet have such different hop schedules.

It'll be hard to test fate, but I guess I will have to go one more run with 051 sometime to confirm my findings.

[jaybeerman]

but I guess I will have to go one more run with 051 sometime to confirm my findings.

it's all about your tastes and perspective - I love wlp051 for IPA but I like ringwood IPA too  (so take that comment with a grain of salt.)  cheers, j

[SiameseMoose]

I've used 051 for several generations, and my experience approaches yours. I think 051 is more susceptible to overpitching than 1056. It is naturally a little more fruity than 1056, especially as the temperature rise. In a very strong fermentation there is enough heat generated that it overwhelms my temperature control, and gets very fruity. I haven't reached the point of "intense orange citrus fruity", but I think mine have been on that path.
Personally, I've given up on 051. I've had attenuation issues with it, and I confirmed in a split wort experiment that my 1056 results were normal. When I've increased the pitch amount, the heat runs away. A real shame, because I love the commercial beers (Mendocino, Anchor Liberty) that use it.

[gordonstrong]

I haven't used this yeast but I do like WY1272.  I don't remember it acting this way.  I love it in an IPA.  It's rare that I'd go more than 3 generations; 2 is most common.  I'll have to look for it next time I use it.  Maybe there's a difference in the yeast between the suppliers.  Even though the source is the same, I know they both can "clean up" the yeast from what they sample and what they sell.  Would be an interesting experiment; side by side 051 and 1272 through 3 generations with split batches.

[blatz]

interesting comments guys

Rob - I know exactly what you mean - I actually contemplated whether I over pitched this batch - I followed jamil's calculator as I always do, but in my gut I felt I was pitching too much slurry - it was about a month in the fridge and mrmalty effectively wanted me to pitch almost double the amount as if it were fresh.  The IPA batch fermented very fast which had me concerned.  My conical/upright chest freezer combo usually has no problem regulating temp and i ferment on the lower end of the range(64), but you raise good points.  keep in mind the intense orange can also be enhanced by my hop selection.

gordon - in the past I used a lot of 1272 for american ales and never got these types of fruity aromas, even on re-pitches.  I'll have to give that one a try again.